The Ice Cream Shoppe (7/27/2023)

This past week I had a doctor’s appointment, and my husband was my chauffeur and back-up memory. After the appointment, we went for a “doctor date.” It’s a tradition for us that began years ago while I was going through treatment for breast cancer. It’s sort of a reward for perseverance. Anyway, we settled on ice cream at our local ice cream shoppe. I love going there because there is joy on everyone’s face; how can you not be joyful in an ice cream shoppe. I especially enjoyed watching the children come in and get their cone or dish of ice cream. They got so excited. How I wished I could scoop up that joy and sprinkle it in other areas that need some happying-up.

If you know me, you know this experience got me to thinking (yes, just about everything does). We are called to Christ and one sign of encountering Christ and following in His footsteps is joy. We are called to be people of joy birthed by love. I wonder where all the joy has gone. I wonder why we “on the way” aren’t more like beacons of light, fountains of joy in our world. Is it all the distractions in our modern world? Is it the unsettling tensions between individuals, blocs, and nations? Or is it as simple as a lack of gratitude to the LORD and others, a sense of entitlement?

My daughter gave me a “junk journal” that has page after page of lines for writing and little pockets for stashing mementos. I decided that was going to be my new gratitude journal. I am going to use it to record the joys of my life and those things for which I should be grateful.

As we continue on our journeys, let us be people who adequately reflect the wonder and blessings of being children of the LORD and disciples of Christ. Let us be people of joy. Let us share that joy with others understanding that joy is one of those elements that never diminishes when shared but increases. Let us be the beacons we are called to be; let us be the fountains of joy that draw others to Christ and bring Christ to others.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.